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Topic Review (Newest First)

05-18-2002 04:43 PM

Bluesmoods

Coastal NJ vs Chesapeake

Howdy.. I have sailes both.

The Chesepeake certainly does offer more "diverse" sailing and detinations. I agree with you regarding the July and August heat and lack of any (challenging)worthwhile breeze (most of the time).

We have a house in Loveladies in Long Beach Island, right on the bay where we also keep two boats. We are planning on keeping our new catalina 350 either at High Bar Harbor Yacht Club in Barnegat Light, Or at the Trump Marina in Atlantic City. We are also in the same situation with two little kids. High Bar is a fantastic spot with a Life guarded heated pool, yacht club entertainment room, Outdoor grills, activiities and a short car ride to the beach and light house. The Inlet is right around the corner and there are quite a few boats that draw close to and over 5 feet. You can pretty much go in and out all day long if yo want to. I would not go down Oyster Creek Channel to the bay though. You will bump bottom a few times and the big Power Boats goining in and out of the inlet will push you toward the outside of the narrow channel. So if you want good ocean day sailing and perhaps weekend overnights to Atlantic City, Cape May Point Pleasent. This wold be a good spot for you. The slips are Privately owned and rent for about $4000 for the season. They sell out every year. (A slip can be purchased for right around $30,000 if there are any available. Even if you don''t stay there, you can enjoy the tax benefits of ownership and income revenue of renting to someone else.)High Bar Harbor is "rustic", offers a fully equipped yacht club and lots of beach things to do on LBI. There are some marinas on the southern side of the island like Beach Haven Yacht Club. You have to motor about 45 minutes to get out on the ocean though. 5 feet draft is no probem during your trek back and forth.

Almost directly accross on the Bay side there is Mariners Marina, an all sailing marina. The boats however have an average draw of just over 4 feet. I think you could get away with 5 feet but it is probably not worth the agravation. You might want to call them and ask. I strongly advise keeping your boat on the ocean side, not the mainland.

Atlantic City (Trump) is a Strate Marina and therefore the boat must be registered in NJ to stay there for the season. You can however take an extended "vacation" stay there. The very wide inlet is very well lit, is about 40 + feet deep, You can''t miss it even if you tried as the casinos provide a very "pretty" skyline at night. There is entertainment on the marina deck on Friday and Sat nights. Lot''s of kids show off there dancing skills. They also have a heated pool and fully equipped health and fitness club for your use. If you have a sitter, It is great to be able to take in a show or walk the boards at night after a ling days'' sail. Who would have thought that Atlantic City can actually be an enjoayable place to keep a boat. The fee there for the season is about $3750. For the year, (in water storage turbine slip) add another $1000. Or go over to Brigatine as there are some places on that side of the inlet as well that offer quick access to the inlet.

Hope I was able to provide you some insight to coastal NJ sailing in the area you are interested in.

Good luck with what ever you decide.

05-13-2002 01:47 PM

tarmand

Coastal NJ vs Chesapeake

Thanks ondro, you''re confirming my fears! It looks like we''ll just be using the boat as a beach house during its time "down the shore." Oh well, there are worse fates...

05-13-2002 07:43 AM

ondro

Coastal NJ vs Chesapeake

the bays in new jersey are shallow...i live here and sail in the cesapeake. my 5''2" draft would drive me crazy here. my friend sails out of toms river and i figure that all you can do is sail the channel with the right wind or motor out to the ocean. it would be in and out - in and out all the time. have you ever been on the bay or around an inlet during the weekend in the summer here in new jersey?...what a zoo!

05-02-2002 07:49 PM

Jeff_H

Coastal NJ vs Chesapeake

While I haven''t sailed on Barnegat Bay since I was a kid, at least in the mid 1960''s when we sailed out of Harvey Cedars, there was very little in Barnegat Bay (other than the ICW) that was deep enough for a boat with 5 feet of draft. At least in the 1960''s Barnegat was mass of constantly shifting sand bars punctuated with debris washed in the Bay by a hurricane in the early 1960''s. The inlets could get pretty inhospitable as well. I don''t know it there has been any dredging. All of this may have changed since my childhood and frankly I only knew the small section between Surf City north toward Barnegat Inlet. Maybe someone has more recent info.

Jeff

05-02-2002 10:15 AM

tarmand

Coastal NJ vs Chesapeake

In an attempt to have the best of both worlds, my wife and I are thinking of splitting our summer sailing time between the Chesapeake Bay (Rock Hall) and Long Beach Island, NJ. I was born and raised on boats in the Chesapeake and have an undying love for the place. But, the wife and kids (2 and 4 years old) love the beach, plus I realize that once the nettles come up and the wind dies down, July and August can be brutal on the Chesapeake. So we figured that we''d move the boat "down the shore" for the dog days of summer, spending the spring and late summer/fall on the Chesapeake. The plan is to find a slip on the bay side of LBI so we can walk to the beach. Plus, the nice thing about this plan is that it puts us in striking distance of some offshore runs to New England (without kids, of course). The problem is this... I don''t know anything about navigating in this area, and all the books I have read seem to suggest that only Cape May and Absecon (A.C.) inlets can be relied upon in anything but ideal conditions, also the back bays (Barnegat, Manahawkin) seem really shallow on the charts (our 36 footer draws 5''). So, my questions to anyone with experience are the following (thanks for reading through my long preamble by the way): 1. Can you take a boat with a 5'' draft through Little Egg or Barnegat Inlets consistently? 2. Can you sail in these back bays? 3. If not, is it reasonable for me to think that I could "day sail" off the coast (i.e. is it two hours each way dealing with ICW and inlets before you can show any canvas)? 4. Other than the ourageous cost of redundant slip fees, what is wrong with this plan? Thanks in advance to anyone who can provide any insight here!